The University of Massachusetts football team filled out another chunk of its roster Wednesday, officially adding a group of four players for 2014 headlined by former 4-star running back recruit Drew Harris.

Joining Harris is an interesting, eclectic collection – quarterback Austin Whipple, the youngest son of coach Mark Whipple who's transferring from Penn State, German defensive lineman Lukas Kolter, who's a friend of fellow European import Fabian Hoeller and punter Brian McDonald, a Division III product out of the University of Minnesota-Morris.

But we'll get to them in a second. First, Harris, who figures to be the most impactful of the newcomers.

Recruited heavily out of high school in 2012 by the likes of Michigan, Penn State, Georgia and others, he is one of most highly-touted recruits – if not the most highly-touted – to ever come to UMass.

At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds and with the requisite speed and athleticism that comes with being a 4-star prospect, Harris is someone fans can get excited about. He's classified as a sophomore and will be in the conversation to start at running back from day one.

The Maroon Musket first reported Tuesday night that Harris – who would originally signed to play at Virginia Tech before academic issues forced him the junior college route – would be eligible to play in 2014. His classroom concerns were apparently very real, because talents like Harris generally don't drop into the laps of schools like UMass.

But the Minutemen will take any breaks they can get.

As for the others, McDonald is a Massachusetts native who figures to come in an affect the punting competition right away. He's a graduate transfer, so he's immediately eligible to try to wrest away the starting job from redshirt freshman Logan Laurent. Remember, though, that teams usually don't bring in graduate players to sit on the bench.

Whipple, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound pro style quarterback, will have to sit out a year after coming over from the Nittany Lions. But he'll get to play under his father and older brother Spencer – the team's tight ends coach – so he's got that going for him.

UPDATE: It turns out Whipple does not have to sit out a year. He will be immediately eligible this fall because he was a non-recruited walk on at Penn State.

And Kolter, a freshman, is a big body – 6-foot-3, 310 pounds – who should add depth to a defensive front that could really use it.

Drew Harris | RB | 6-1/220 lbs | Downington, PA. | Fork Union Military/ASA College
A highly talented and recruited running back coming out of Downington High School in 2012 ... Originally recruited by Virginia Tech, Michigan, Florida State, Georgia, Rutgers, Miami, and others, but did a post graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy before enrolling at ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the 2013 season ... At Downington, Harris rushed for 4,977 career yards despite an injury-shortened senior year ... Ranked as the No. 125 player in the country overall, the No. 9 running back in the country and the No. 3 player in his state by 247Sports ... Listed as the No. 22 running back in the country and the No. 11 prospect in Pennsylvania by Rivals ... Ranked as the No. 5 player in the state of Pennsylvania by SuperPrep ... Listed as the No. 247 overall player in the country and the No. 26 running back in the nation by Scout ... Ranked as the No. 19 running back in the country, the No. 43 player in his region and the No. 13 player in the state by ESPN Recruiting Nation ... Ranked as the No. 147 overall prospect in the country and the No. 6 "Big Back" in the country by Tom Lemming on MaxPreps ... A SuperPrep and PrepStar All-American ... A member of the National Underclassmen Combine preseason East Regional Second-Team All-American Team ... Rushed for 617 yards on 104 carries and scored nine touchdowns as a senior before going down for the season with a knee injury ... As a junior, carried the ball 227 times for 1,960 yards and 28 touchdowns and was first-team all-league, all-conference and all-state Class AAAA ... Was also the Chesmont League Player of the Year ... A first-team choice to The Daily Local's all-area team as tailback his junior season ... As a sophomore, carried the ball 306 times for 2,010 yards and 30 touchdowns and was named first-team all-state for Class AAAA.

Brian McDonald | P | 6-3/225 lbs | Westwood, MA - Hebron Academy/Univ. of Minnesota-Morris
Played at the University of Minnesota-Morris as a junior in 2013 where he was second in the UMAC with a 37.9 yard punt average ... Earned Academic All-UMAC honors for the fall campaign ... Had a season long of 60 yards with eight punts dropped inside the 20-yard line ... Averaged a game-high 51.3 yards per kick against Westminster on Oct. 12 ... College career started in 2010 at Sacred Heart before he transferred after the season to Fitchburg State where he played QB from 2011-12 ... Was the starting quarterback in 2011 going 77-of-188 for 807 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games ... Moved over to punter in 2012 where he had a 36.8 yard average along with 12 punts dropped inside the 20 and seven which were fair caught ... Earned NEFC All-Conference and MASCAC All-Academic honors ... Graduated Hebron Academy in Spring 2010 where he was a member of the football and basketball teams ... Was a two-year captain of the football team and earned 2009 All-Academic Player of the Year honors.

Austin Whipple | QB | 6-1/199 lbs | Wexford, PA | Salisbury School/Penn State
Joins UMass after spending the 2013 season at Penn State as a walk-on quarterback ... Played at the Salisbury School in Connecticut where he threw for 1,215 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012 en route to the New England Prep School Class A Championship ... Was an All-Erickson League All-Star pick ... Graduated from Pine-Richland High School in Pennsylvania in 2011 where he threw for 1,526 yards and had 16 touchdowns as a senior ... Also played for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2009-10 when his father, UMass head coach Mark Whipple, was the offensive coordinator for the University of Miami ... His brother, Spencer, is currently the UMass tight ends coach.

Lukas Kolter | DL | 6-3/310 lbs | Cologne, Germany | Cologne Crocodiles
Kolter becomes UMass' second German national to play for the Minutemen joining Fabian Hoeller ... Played for the Cologne Crocodiles of the German Football League 2 where he was a three year starter winning national championships in 2011 and 2012 ... Was a three-time All-State selection in 2010, 2011 and 2012.